The Meta Scottish Outlaws face Irish Youths

The first modern pentathlon competition involving a team from Scotland competing against another nation takes place in Aberdeen this weekend.

The Irish Youths will compete against a team of 26 Scots in the swim, ride, fence and combined event shoot and run event.

Up to now, representation has only been through GB, but, with the growing interest in the sport, there is now the possibility of having a home nations event. It is hoped that this event will kick start something bigger next year with the possibility of England and Wales joining in.

The event has been organised by Scottish Saltires Modern Pentathlon Club who have been very successful in growing the sport throughout Scotland.

They have run a number of biathlon swim/run events locally and this has raised awareness of the sport. In addition to the Pentathlon competition next weekend, the club are also running a biathlon event on the Sunday morning for local's. There are 80 entries in the swim/run event and biathletes will also be able to watch the fencing phase of the pentathlon.

The riding takes place on Saturday at Hayfield Equestrian Centre wit hte remaining phases on Sunday at the International School of Aberdeen.

The whole event has been very kindly sponsored by premium downhole isolation company, Meta. They are covering the cost of the whole event with a generous donation of £2500. This is a fantastic sum of money coming into the sport. It means the neccessary equipment bought for the event can be used after for training and there will be more money in the pot to pay for good coaches and run camps to bring on young athletes.

Meta
Meta is a premium downhole isolation company offering complete integrity across the life of the well - from the well architecture through to completion and production. Meta delivers to an international client base from its three regional hubs in the UK, the Middle East and the United States.

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News from February 2015

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Thursday, 26th Feb 2015

2015-02-26

Get Ready for National Modern Pentathlon Week!

We're introducing National Modern Pentathlon Week; 6-12th April 2015. The purpose of this campaign week is to:

To create an inspirational and co-ordinated week of Modern Pentathlon related activity to attract and retain members.

To engage the whole pentathlon family in one activity campaign and therefore provide a motivational centre piece.

To link localised provision for the sport to our mass participation event – the British Schools’ Modern Biathlon Championships – providing follow up activities introducing the different disciplines and easing the transition into clubs and Modern Pentathlon activity.

To raise the profile of Modern Pentathlon as a participation sport as well as at performance and elite level. Linked to this would be delivering some of the key messages about what our fabulous sport has to offer.

Pentathlon GB cannot make this campaign happen without YOU! We are looking for a range of activities to demonstrating the range and breadth of our sport: from grass roots to talent; from two to five disciplines; from taster days to competitions. All of these activities should show that we are fun, diverse and challenging as a sport.

Activities can happen across the country at any point through the week commencing 6 April. Examples of activities include:

Adapted activities – for young participants, participants with disabilities

Activities to engage participants/parents into coaching

Charity activities

Challenge activities

Engage a role model to help with your club activity

This is a time to be creative or even just celebrate what you already offer by opening your doors to new members through this campaign.

If you are interested and want to know more please contact a member of the Development Team who are here to help you make the most of the campaign. The week will be officially launched on 23rd February. So to make the most of the opportunity we need a full to bursting activity schedule between 6th and 12th April. If you have something to promote as part of this week please complete the attached form and return to louise.andren@pentathlongb.org – we need the details of your activity by Thursday 19th February.

Our Development Officers can help by giving guidance on the activities you would like to run. If you’re in the North then contact Rachael Handley: rachael.handley@pentathlongb.org or 07590 444372. If you’re in the South then contact Miranda Palmer: miranda.palmer@pentathlongb.org or 07855 957024.

Eleanor Guest

Sunday, 22nd Feb 2015

2015-02-22

Hallo from Sarasota

Sunset on Florida west coast is dramatic beautiful and romantic. When the sun reaches horizon it turns purple, skies gradually change from dark blue, dark pink, to bright yellow with light green edges. Nothing disturbs the skyline because of the flat landscape and low buildings. You can enjoy 360 degrees panorama by rotating slowly looking high, feeling almost like a part of the Universe. Sarasota community is a world apart from what we Europeans are accustoming to. Gated residential areas, spacious shopping malls, immaculate wide highways and open spaces featuring endless mini lakes and sub tropical vegetation. You won’t see very often people walking just lazily cruising cars, reminder that America is a country on wheels. This is a place where plastic surgery, rejuvenation, medical treatments and fitness centres targeting elderly population are advertised on each corner. I’ve got a feeling that at the leisure centre where the fencing competition was held never seen so many young and fit people at the same time. Many of the regular customers asked me questions about the sport listened carefully explanations of what Pentathlon stand for and watched parts of the fencing between their moderate fitness routines. I was surprised how many people were informed about the World Cup taking place surely outcome of well managed LOC campaign.

Significant milestone achieved by the British athletes in Sarasota enhanced the magic of Saturday’s evening. We had privilege to stand up for the anthem and celebrate winning performances twice in two consecutive days. Samantha Murray and Jamie Cooke entered the history books of British Modern Pentathlon, first ever both gender win in the World Cup series.

Questions resonate inside my head from the moment when Jamie crossed the finishing line: isn’t it too early in the season … how can we push improvements even further … is there risk of complacency looming upon us … what individual weaknesses we need to tackle … why we overlooked shortcomings in the competition rules knowledge … is our equipment base up to date … We all know too well that to win is hard but to come back and win again is even harder. There is still a massive amount of work to be done on the way to Rio. We can take momentarily a comfort from the fact that we seem to be on track and over the first hurdle. However we must remember route to Rio just begun and it will be, as Beatles say, a long and twisty road. Cairo World Cup next.

Jan Bartu

Saturday, 21st Feb 2015

2015-02-21

Cooke wins gold and makes it a historic double for GB

Great Britain’s Jamie Cooke won the individual men’s gold at the first World Cup of 2015 in Sarasota, USA, tonight to add to the women’s gold and bronze won yesterday by Samantha Murray and Kate French.

The medal tally was a first in recent history for GB. “I can’t remember us doing this before”, said Jan Bartu, PentathlonGB Performance Director since 1998. “It is a first to win both individual golds. We are all over the moon and it’s fantastic”.

Cooke’s triumph came today as a result of a series of consistent performances across the four events – fencing, swimming, riding and then the combined event (run-shoot).

Bartu singled out his fencing for particular praise. “Jamie put in one of his best fencing competitions ever and that set him up. That was a major, major breakthrough for him”, he said.

In the final event of the day Cooke clinched victory by overhauling Egypt’s 2014 World Silver Medallist Amro El Geziry after the second of four shooting stages. The Egyptian had started with a four second advantage.

Cooke, from Cheltenham, then held onto his lead ahead of Russia’s Egor Puchkarevskiy despite a nervous final shooting stage.

Earlier former World Junior Champion Cooke, with 20 fencing wins, went into the riding competition in third place overall, Choong was fifth and Evans 15th at this stage. All three British men produced some sizzling swim times. Cooke was the fastest in 1:59.21 and the GB trio were all within three tenths of each other.

Only El Geziry, leading after two events, swam faster. He also secured 23 fencing wins. Puchkarevskiy was lying second and China’s Guo Jianli was in fourth.

Cooke, on a horse called Montey Carlo, put his faith in a controlled and measured ride with the risk of going over the time limit. His gamble paid off as he went clear and only recorded four time faults.

“He rode very well”, said Bartu. “He was composed and technically solid”.

By contrast Joseph Choong had earlier lost his balance coming into fence nine, putting all his weight to one side and was unseated at fence ten. He was disqualified but later permitted to start the run-shoot five minutes behind the leaders.

“It was a pity for Joe as he had earlier fenced well and his is a good swimmer”, said Bartu.

Joe Evans recovered from a poor fencing competition to swim well. He moved up from 28th after the fencing to 14th going into the ride during which he had only one fence down, leaving him in ninth place for the combined run-shoot but eventually slipped back outside the top ten.

“It was a good experience for Joe”, explained Bartu. “He was fatigued towards the end of such a big competition”.

The men’s results followed a dream first world cup performance for GB’s women with Samantha Murray, the reigning World Champion, taking gold and Kate French, the bronze.

“These results far exceeded our expectations”, said Performance Director Jan Bartu. “They show that the athletes and the coaching and support teams are on track in preparations for the Rio Games.

“There was a strong field here and some strong results for emerging nations like Guatemala. That can only be good for the sport”.

Britain is not contesting the final event in Sarasota tomorrow, the mixed team relay.

Murray held off a strong challenge from home favourite Margaux Isaksen in the final to win gold. She had a buffer going into the final combined event (the run-shoot) and needed it to keep Isaksen at bay.

French, meanwhile, made up a significant deficit in the combined to post a time of 13:15.82 and take the bronze. Russia’s Donata Rimsaite was the quickest in 13:05.48 but could not close the gap and took fourth.

Murray had gone into the combined event in pole position. She had a five second advantage over her nearest challenger.

Home favourite Margaux Isaksen had led after the swim and the fence but then knocked down three fences to Murray’s one in the 12-fence riding competition. From the top group only Frenchwoman Elodie Clouvel went clear in this event.

Kate French, seventh going into the ride, toppled a pole at fence three as well as a fence in the treble. Earlier Freyja Prentice and Joanna Muir both showed their technical riding ability on equally challenging mounts.

Murray built a good early platform in the competition with 20 wins in the fencing round-robin before posting the day’s second fastest 200m swim time of 2:09.84.

French recorded 21 wins in the fencing but was much slower in the swim with 2:20.26. Coupled with her riding points it meant that the British no.1 started 31 seconds down on Murray in the combined.

Joanna Muir was 22nd after the first three events whilst Freyja Prentice was in 28th. Prentice made up ten places to take 18th overall and Muir finished her debut World Cup in 29th.

A fairytale start to the season for the British squad came just a day after they had announced a new sponsor in legal firm Mogers Drewett.

Bartu was clearly delighted with his charges but continued: “There is always room for improvement so the upcoming World Cup competitions in Egypt, Rome and Hungary will provide opportunities for more British athletes to make their mark at the top of the international stage”.

A trio of British men are in action in tonight’s men’s individual final – Jamie Cooke, Joe Evans and Joseph Choong.

For further information contact the Pentathlon GB press office at Matchtight Ltd on 01225 384211 or press@matchtight.co.uk

Caroline Searle

Friday, 20th Feb 2015

2015-02-20

Pentathlon GB has signed a new sponsor

Britain’s best Modern Pentathletes received a boost this week with the news that the national governing body for the sport in the UK has signed a new sponsor.

Law firm Mogers Drewett will back the 20-strong squad up to and beyond the Rio 2016 Olympic Games.

Pentathlon GB Chief Executive Nigel Laughton said: “We are clearly delighted to enter into this arrangement with Mogers Drewett. The help we will receive from this leading firm has come at just the right time. We are staging the European Modern Pentathlon Championships at the University of Bath 18 – 23 August this year and the Olympic qualifying process starts this June.

“Eight of our leading athletes are already in the USA this week to compete at the season’s opening World Cup, so our activities are really accelerating. We want to ensure that our athletes are the best supported they can be when competing against the finest of the world’s Modern Pentathletes”.

Steven Treharne the Managing Partner at Mogers Drewett said: “At Mogers Drewett we are very proud of the city’s growing connections with international Modern Pentathlon and the team based at the University of Bath. We have high hopes for the team in this pre-Olympic season and in showing our support and commitment through this sponsorship deal we believe we are doing our bit to help them achieve even greater success.

“As a West Country based firm we appreciate Pentathlon GB choosing the South West as its home and believe the presence of the entire performance squad helps further underline that the region is as much about sporting excellence, health and personal achievement as it is about heritage, tourism and industry. We will take great pride in seeing our logo associated with Pentathlon GB”.

British Modern Pentathletes have won medals at every Games since 2000, starting with gold for Steph Cook in Sydney and Samantha Murray is not only the current World Champion but also took Olympic silver on the final day of the London 2012 Games.

The Pentathlon GB National Training Centre is based at University of Bath’s Claverton Down campus and the team trains under the direction of National Performance Director Jan Bartu and a successful coaching team. The University has a £30 million Sports Training Village, which offers an array of some of the best sporting facilities in the country. It hosts around 250 international level athletes and around 1.3 million people visit the University’s sports facilities each year.

Pentathlon GB also has Academy bases around the UK from which athletes can progress to the national squad. The organisation is forward thinking and is already developing a legacy participation programme from the staging of the 2015 home Europeans including hub clubs and “splash and dash” activities for young people aged 14-25.

Mogers Drewett has offices in Bath, Sherborne and Wells and a satellite office at Frome market. The company provides a full range of legal services for commercial clients and private individuals. For more information see www.md-solicitors.co.uk

Caroline Searle

Friday, 20th Feb 2015

2015-02-20

Choong, Cooke and Evans all through to Sarasota final

British no.1 Joe Evans, from Shropshire, is through to the men’s final at the season’s opening World Cup – one of three GB pentathletes to succeed overnight in Sarasota, USA.

He will be joined in Saturday’s final by Jamie Cooke and Joe Choong. Cooke and Evans were both fifth in their qualifying groups whilst Choong was eighth. Tom Toolis was the only British athlete to narrowly miss out on progressing. He was 11th in his group.

Former World Junior Champion, Cooke, was the top points scorer from the trio. He collected 1095 points from the three events contested in the qualifying round (fencing, swimming and the combined run-shoot). His swim time of 1:58.28 was the fastest in his group.

Evans and Choong scored 1081 and 1088 points respectively. Evans was top fencer in his group with 24 wins. Toolis scored 1057 points. The three men will contest their final on Saturday.

Meanwhile, Britain’s four-strong women’s squad will compete in their individual finals later today. Kate French, Samantha Murray, Freyja Prentice and Joanna Muir will be in action with results expected just before 11pm UK time.

In the final, the riding event is added to the fencing, swimming and combined run-shoot in the tradition of the five-discipline Olympic sport.

Britain’s athletes will want to hone their skills on the World Cup circuit as well as aiming for podium places in 2015 as qualifying spots for the 2016 Olympic Games are at stake later in the year. A significant event on the Road to Rio will be the European Championships staged at the University of Bath, Pentathlon GB’s national training base, as eight quota places for the Games will be on offer there.

Pentathlon GB Selections World Cup 1

Women:

Kate French – 11.02.91, Meopham, Kent – lives Bath

Samantha Murray – 25.09.89, Clitheroe, Lancashire – lives Bath,

Freyja Prentice 20.05.90 – Inverurie, Aberdeenshire – lives Bath

Joanna Muir 30.08.1994 – Castle Douglas, Dumfries – lives Bath

Men:

Joe Evans – 05.09.93, Whitchurch, Shropshire – lives Bath

Jamie Cooke – 03.03.91, Cheltenham, Gloucestershire – lives Bath

Joseph Choong – 23.05.95, Orpington – lives Bath

Tom Toolis – 23.12.92, Hornchurch, Essex – Bath

For further information contact the Pentathlon GB press office at Matchtight Ltd on 01225 384211 or press@matchtight.co.uk

Caroline Searle

Thursday, 19th Feb 2015

2015-02-19

All four British athletes through to women's final at opening World Cup

World Champion Samantha Murray moved safely into the final of the year’s first World Cup in Sarasota, USA, overnight.

The 2012 Olympic silver medallist, competing internationally for the first time since winning her title in Warsaw last year, was fourth in her group. Murray posted one of the day’s faster swim times, on the way to registering 908 points.

British no. 1 Kate French was also in fine form to top her group and qualify for Friday’s 36-athlete final with 940 points.

Freyja Prentice and Joanna Muir complete the quartet of British athletes to make the final on a day dubbed “very solid” by GB Performance Director, Jan Bartu.

Prentice was third in high-scoring group B with 946 points whilst Muir, a debutante at this level, was ninth in French’s group with 920 points.

The men’s qualification takes place later today with the women’s final tomorrow and the men’s final on Saturday.

Pentathlon GB Selections World Cup 1

Women:

Kate French – 11.02.91, Meopham, Kent – lives Bath

Samantha Murray – 25.09.89, Clitheroe, Lancashire – lives Bath,

Freyja Prentice 20.05.90 – Inverurie, Aberdeenshire – lives Bath

Joanna Muir 30.08.1994 – Castle Douglas, Dumfries – lives Bath

Men:

Joe Evans – 05.09.93, Whitchurch, Shropshire – lives Bath

Jamie Cooke – 03.03.91, Cheltenham, Gloucestershire – lives Bath

Joseph Choong – 23.05.95, Orpington – lives Bath

Tom Toolis – 23.12.92, Hornchurch, Essex – Bath

Caroline Searle

Monday, 16th Feb 2015

2015-02-16

Muir steps up as first World Cup team announced

20 year-old Joanna Muir, twice winner of World Junior relay gold, stepped into the individual limelight this week with a call up to Pentathlon GB’s squad for the season’s opening World Cup in the USA.

Muir, from Dumfries, will join Olympic silver medallist and reigning World Champion Samantha Murray for the event which starts on Wednesday 18th and runs to Saturday 21st February in Sarasota, Florida.

Muir is studying Sports Performance at the University of Bath, which is also home to Pentathlon GB’s National Training Centre.

Freyja Prentice, from Inverurie near Aberdeen, and Kate French, from Meopham in Kent, both winners of the World Championships relay silver last year with Lancashire’s Murray, complete the women’s line up.

The men’s team consists of Shropshire’s Joe Evans, who topped the British rankings list after Pentathlon GB’s recent series of three ranking competitions, Jamie Cooke, from Cheltenham, Joe Choong, from Orpington and Tom Toolis, from Hornchurch.

Choong, from Orpington, is a Mathematics student at the University of Bath and is a recipient of the Ivor Powell Sports Scholarship Fund which provides scholarships for students who are gifted both academically and in their chosen sport. He began to show his prowess with World Youth silver in 2013 and silver at the Milan Kalec Memorial in Prague in April of 2014.

Toolis, and a Sport and Exercise student at the University of Bath, won the European men’s relay bronze in Hungary last year.

GB Performance Director Jan Bartu is delighted to have been able to select his top-ranked athletes into a strong team to start the season. He said: “Everyone was fit and healthy so we went with the top-ranked athletes based on our recent events”.

For Bartu, just as for the athletes, there will be a sense of stepping into the unknown in Sarasota. He explained: “Everyone, athletes included, would say that the first competition of the season can be a little bit weird. It is essentially a long time since anyone has stepped into that bubble of the big event. Only comparison with the opposition allows you to see the bigger picture.”

“We think the overall entry will be strong, though, as many nations have already been training in advance of the World Cup at a training camp in Colorado Springs”.

The women will contest semi-finals on Wednesday 18th February and finals on Friday 20th February. The men will compete in their semi-finals on Thursday 19th February and in the finals on Saturday 21st February. Pentathlon GB has not entered the mixed relay.

Competition each day will start at 08.00 local time (13:00 in the UK) and the finals will conclude at approx 17.00 in the US (22:00 in the UK).

Pentathlon GB Selections World Cup 1

Women:

Kate French – 11.02.91, Meopham, Kent – lives Bath

Samantha Murray – 25.09.89, Clitheroe, Lancashire – lives Bath,

Freyja Prentice 20.05.90 – Inverurie, Aberdeenshire – lives Bath

Joanna Muir 30.08.1994 – Castle Douglas, Dumfries – lives Bath

Men:

Joe Evans – 05.09.93, Whitchurch, Shropshire – lives Bath

Jamie Cooke – 03.03.91, Cheltenham, Gloucestershire – lives Bath

Joseph Choong – 23.05.95, Orpington – lives Bath

Tom Toolis – 23.12.92, Hornchurch, Essex – Bath

For further information contact the Pentathlon GB press office at Matchtight Ltd on 01225 384211 or press@matchtight.co.uk

Caroline Searle

Saturday, 14th Feb 2015

2015-02-14

British Biathle Team Dominate in Dubai

Hot temperatures and a last minute change of venue to the Atlantis Hotel on Dubai's Palm did not deter the British Team at the first Biathle World Tour of 2015.

The event held on the Atlantis's Nasima Beach in front of the famous Aquaventure Water Park saw teams from Germany, Italy, South Africa and the host United Arab Emirates as well as ourselves. The GB team were so dominent that no individual finished lower than second position.

The team's first involvement was in the Youth D races and there were immmediately emphatic wins for both Rebecca Wren and Kieron Mutch with Josh Dreelan finishing second.

Sophie Mutch's very impressive swim brought her through the field to finish second in the Youth C Girls race. Kizzie Price showed the rest the way with an easy win in the Youth B Girls race and Jessica Sutton took a deserved second place. Not to be outdone, Jamie Price matched his sister's performance with a win in the Youth A race.

James Greenwell overcame the shock of being lead into transition in the Masters A race with a masterly swim which brought him back into transition with a clear half a minute lead, enough to ensure victory by the end of the race. Andy Price gained second in the Masters B race and Mary and Peter Colett won their masters C and D races respectiveley.

The final events, the seniors, saw victory for Rachel Jones and a silver for Gareth Allen. So 8 winners and 5 runners up - a spectacularly good performance from the team who, imediately following the presentation went into the adjacent water park to relax and rest on their laurels for the remainder of the day.

The next World Tour event is in Italy on 7th June.

Howard Jones

Thursday, 12th Feb 2015

2015-02-12

Europeans excitement builds as British Ranking list published

Kate French and Joe Evans top the British Ranking lists, Pentathlon GB announced today, as the excitement of the 2015 season looms closer.

French won two of three PentathlonGB ranking events and Evans won the opener and placed second and third in the other two.

Samantha Murray, World Champion and 2012 Olympic medallist, was also in strong form at the weekend to take second place in the final event in the series.

With Jamie Cook, Joseph Choong, Tom Toolis, Joanna Muir, Freyja Prentice and Francesca Summers all having posted top-three finishes in the series at Millfield School, the scene looks set for some intense internal rivalry before selections are made for British teams at the key events.

One of the more important events on that 2015 calendar will be the European Championships at the University of Bath this August. Not only will the European crowns be at stake but also eight quota qualifying slots for the Olympic Games in Rio in 2016.

As the year turned into 2015 there was a palpable sense of excitement around this event which will be staged on the most compact site of modern times.

The University’s £30 million Sports Training Village sits next to the accommodation that will be used by the athletes and support personnel.

Within the Sports Training Village there is a 50m swimming pool and the Team Bath Arena hall which will be used for the fencing competition (one that will have added spice this year because of the new bonus round).

The show-jumping element will be on the athletics in-field and the run-shoot will use the existing 400m athletics oval and a new pistol range.

Crowds will be able to get up close to the action and cheer on their local but global heroes and heroines.

With such intense rivalry in the GB ranks this early in the year, there is no doubt that GB will field a strong team for the 2015 European Modern Pentathlon Championships.

Caroline Searle

Thursday, 12th Feb 2015

2015-02-12

BUCS Modern Pentathlon and Biathlon Championships 2015

The BUCS Modern Pentathlon and Biathlon Championships 2015 will take place on 13-14 March in Oxford. Any student at a BUCS affiliated college or university can take part as a biathlete, tetrathlete or pentathlete. Entries shut on Thursday 26 February (Visit website for entries). The competition is run with a friendly and helpful atmosphere. It is designed to cater for both novice athletes at their first competition and elite athletes alike.

For all news and updates like us on Facebook (BUCS Modern Pentathlon and Biathlon Championships 2015) or follow us on Twitter (@bucsmodernpent)

All competitors need to be members of Pentathlon GB and thanks to the support of BUCS and the University of Oxford entry fees can be kept low:

• Full Pentathlon or Ride Tetrathlon = £35

• Non-ride Tetrathlon = £16

• Run & Swim biathlon = £6

The organisers are always grateful for volunteers, especially fencing referees! Volunteers on the Saturday will receive a packed lunch and refreshments throughout the day. Contact: jonathon.wright@ssho.ox.ac.uk for more details.

Alexia Jones

Thursday, 12th Feb 2015

2015-02-12

European Championships - Contractor Opportunity

Pentathlon GB has been awarded the rights to host the Modern Pentathlon European Championships, which will take place from 18 - 23 August 2015.

The event forms part of the £27 million UK Sport Gold Event Series and we require a contractor to provide a range of Venue Overlay services.

This will be the second time that the senior competition will be held on UK soil and the event will be held at the University of Bath.

Joanna Muir and Tom Toolis won the final of three Pentathlon GB national ranking series events at the weekend in Millfield School.

Muir pipped 2014 World Champion and London 2012 Olympic silver medallist, Samantha Murray,, by just seven points overall in the women’s event with Kate French, winner on the two previous occasions, in third.

Tom Toolis improved significantly on his previous fourth and ninth places to win the equivalent men’s event ahead of Joseph Choong and Joe Evans who were level on points behind him. Jamie Cooke, winner last month, was fourth.

Jan Bartu, Performance Director for Pentathlon GB, said: “We have had a good series of domestic competitions and now we shift our focus to the international stage”.

Aggregate scores and performances at the three events have now produced the British national ranking list, published today, with world cup selections in mind and, ultimately, the opportunity for athletes to gain Olympic qualification places for GB.

French, Murray and Freyja Prentice top the British women’s ranking lists in that order followed by Joanna Muir in fourth. Joe Evans, Joseph Choong and Jamie Cook have come out on top in the men’s lists with Tom Toolis in fourth and Sam Curry in fifth.

2011 World Champion Mhairi Spence continues her comeback from a long break and has not completed enough events to gain a ranking.

The first of the Olympic quota qualifying chances for 2015 will be the World Cup Final in June in Minsk but the European Championships, taking place in Bath in August, will be amongst the more key opportunities with eight quota places on offer there.

Selections will soon be announced for the first World Cup of 2015 in Sarasota, USA, starting next week (from 18-25 February).

This will be followed by a World Cup in Egypt from 19-23 March. Some of the younger GB athletes will also contest the GB Youth International in Solihull from 13-15 February.

For further information please contact the Pentathlon GB press office at Matchtight Ltd on 01225 384211 or at press@matchtight.co.uk

Caroline Searle

Friday, 6th Feb 2015

2015-02-06

World Cup selections in sight at final of three ranking events

The nation’s top modern pentathletes will go head to head tomorrow for the third and final time as they seek to gain vital ranking points before the World Cup season.

This year the ranking competitions open up the opportunity of gaining Olympic qualification places for the athletes, the first opportunity for this being the World Cup Final in June in Minsk – to qualify for the final the athletes must prove themselves throughout the World Cup season, with the top 36 athletes (and a maximum of three per nation) from the Pentathlon World Ranking list being invited to compete.

Kate French, winner of the two previous rounds, will start as favourite as the five sport, four-event (swimming, fencing, riding, run-shoot) schedule gets underway at 7am.

The women’s field includes 2014 World Champion and 2012 Olympic silver medallist Samantha Murray and 2011 World Champion Mhairi Spence.

Jamie Cooke and Joe Evans have shared the honours in the men’s events so far. Evans won the first event and Cooke reversed that result in the second.

Cooke, the 2011 World Junior Champion, said: “I’m looking forward to getting this last selection done. It means that the winter training is coming to a finish and we can set our sights on to the World Cups”.

Pentathlon GB National Performance Director Jan Bartu has already underlined the importance of the events to him and his coaches he said: “This is the climax of the 2015 ranking series so the competition is very important for all athletes who wish to become eligible for the World Cup season.”

Selections will soon be made for the first World Cup of 2015 in Sarasota, USA, later this month (from 18-25 February).

This will be followed by a World Cup in Egypt from 19-23 March. Some of the younger GB athletes will also contest the GB Youth International in Solihull from 13-15 February.

January Results – top ten only

Women

1. Kate French 1381pts

2. Freyja Prentice 1371 pts

3. Samantha Murray 1359 pts

4. Eilidh Prise 1343 pts

5. Yane Marques (BRA) 1333 pts

6. Francesca Summers 1284 pts

7. Joanna Muir 1267 pts

8. Georgia Pipes 1264 pts

9. Mhairi Spence 1236 pts

10.Priscilla Oliveira (BRA) 1236 pts

Men

1. James Cooke 1478 pts

2. Joe Evans 1475 pts

3. Joseph Choong 1474 pts

4. James Myatt 1462 pts

5. Samuel Curry 1439 pts

6. Nick Woodbridge 1422 pts

7. Luke Tasker 1402 pts

8. Tom Lees 1380 pts

9. Tom Toolis 1369 pts

10. David Atkinson 1329 pts

December Results – top ten only

MEN

1. Joe Evans 1512 pts

2. James Cooke 1444 pts

3. Joseph Choong 1434 pts

4. Tom Toolis 1409 pts

5. Sam Curry 1388 pts

6. Nicholas Woodbridge 1382 pts

7. Henry Choong 1381 pts

8. Tom Lees 1374 pts

9. Mathew Dewey 1323 pts

10. Lee Ormerod 1287 pts

WOMEN

1. Kate French 1314 pts

2. Francesca Summers 1278 pts

3. Joanna Muir 1264 pts

4. Freyja Prentice 1259 pts

5. Samantha Murray 1237 pts

6. Jessica Varley 1150 pts

7. Maili Mackenzie 1127 pts

8. Kelsey Pillage 1089 pts

9. Alice Rogers 1084 pts

10. Holly Parker 976 pts

For further information please contact the Pentathlon GB press office at Matchtight Ltd on 01225 384211 or at press@matchtight.co.uk

• Pentathlon GB is the national governing body for the Olympic sport of Modern Pentathlon.

• Modern Pentathlon sees athletes compete in five disciplines – fencing, swimming, riding and a combined run-shoot – all in one day.

• Britain’s Modern Pentathletes have been successful at the highest level, winning medals at the last four Olympic Games. Steph Cook and Kate Allenby won gold and bronze respectively at Sydney 2000, Georgina Harland won bronze at the Athens 2004 Olympics, Heather Fell won silver at the Beijing 2008 Games and Samantha Murray won silver at London 2012.

• Pentathlon GB receives National Lottery funding from UK Sport and Sport England. You can find out more about UK Sport at www.uksport.gov.uk and about Sport England at www.sportengland.org

Caroline Searle

Monday, 2nd Feb 2015

2015-02-02

Ranking Competition 3 and Under 17 Ranking Competition Timetable

TIMETABLE

National Ranking Competition # 3 and Under 17 Ranking Competition

Street – Millfield School – 7th February 2015 (Saturday)

Swimming – Millfield School - Swimming Pool (50m)

06:45 – 07:00 Registration (all classes)

07:00 – 07:20 Warm Up (all classes)

07:20 U 17 swimming (5 heats)

After Senior and Junior swimming (5 heats)

Fencing – Millfield School – Jubilee Hall

08:45 Warm Up – Men and Women

09:15 Fencing Competition

CE – Under 17 – Millfield School – Jubilee Hall

12:15 – 13:00 Warm Up & 1st Heat (under 17 girls)

13:15 – 14:00 Warm Up & 2nd Heat (under 17 boys)

Riding – Millfield School – Riding Centre

11:15 Horse Inspection, Jump Test

12:30 Course Open – Course Walk

13:00 1st Rider Warm Up (Women)

Followed by other Women (15min interval – Warm Up)

Followed by Men (15min interval – Warm Up)

CE – Senior & Junior

15:00 Warm Up & 3rd Heat (Women)

15:50 Warm Up & 4th Heat (Men)

Jan Bartu

Monday, 2nd Feb 2015

2015-02-02

Modern Pentathlon in Scotland

Scottish Pentathlon (SP) is the new governing body set up in Scotland to help develop the sport of Modern Pentathlon with the support of sportscotland and Pentathlon GB (PGB).

SP replaces the Scottish Modern Pentathlon Association (SMPA) and has in place a new Board led by Chair, Murdo Macdonald, and a revised plan for developing the sport. The SP Board includes, Trish Prise, Kirsty Craig, Paul Wain, Colin Mackenzie and Jane Scott.

This is a very positive step and Pentathlon GB will support SP in their efforts to develop and promote the sport in Scotland, which includes their running of events, ranging from biathlons to pentathlons.

Please note that membership of Scottish Pentathlon will AUTOMATICALLY include membership of Pentathlon GB, at no additional cost. Scottish members of Pentathlon GB are not required to be members of Scottish Pentathlon, although this is actively encouraged to support the new organisation and the promotion of the sport in Scotland. Naturally and importantly, SP membership will allow both organisations to communicate with you and provide membership services.

If you would like your membership extended to include Scottish Pentathlon (at no additional cost), please email admin@pentathlongb.org.

Scottish Pentathlon is in the process of establishing a new website and a presence on Facebook and Twitter. Once these are up and running we will announce them on the Pentathlon GB website.

Scottish Pentathlon’s inaugural event will be on Sunday 01 March 2015 when SP is running their Biathlon Championships in Aberdeen, hosted by Scottish Saltires MPC. If you are interested in taking part or supporting, please contact Trish Prise (trishprise@aol.com) for further details.

Eleanor Guest

News
from January 2015

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Wednesday, 21st Jan 2015

2015-01-21

French tops table for second time whilst Cooke takes men's honours

Kate French, 2014 World Championships Mixed Relay silver medallist, topped the table once more at the second of three Pentathlon GB national ranking events which took place at Millfield School over the weekend.

In a tight contest she took the honours by ten points from Freyja Prentice with World Champion and Olympic silver medallist Samantha Murray, from Clitheroe, Lancs, in third.

Mhairi Spence, the 2011 World Champion, made her return to competitive action after a post season break and produced a top ten finish.

Eilidh Prise, from Aberdeen, was the surprise package of the competition. The 19 year old who has already won medals at Youth International level, was fourth just 16 points behind Murray.

French, from Meopham, nr Gravesend, Kent, said: “It’s a good start to the year so I’m really pleased. There’s still room for improvement and I know what I’ve got to work on for next time. I really liked the ride, I had a lovely horse which made it enjoyable. I’m looking forward to the season and I’m focused on selection for the World Cups and qualifying for the World Cup Final”.

The men’s event also produced a close finish with only four points separating the winner Jamie Cooke from Joe Evans and Joseph Choong in second and third respectively.

Cooke’s victory reversed the outcome of the equivalent December event in which Shropshire’s Evans came out on top.

Cheltenham’s Cooke, a former World Junior Champion, said: “It was really nice to win today. We’ve just got two weeks of training under the belt after the Christmas break and they’re always quite hard and then to come out and perform it’s been really good.

“We’re quite a tight group at the moment, we’re always pushing each other on and I think that was shown today by the first five or six athletes finishing so close together. Obviously that’s really good for the programme because we’re all pushing each other.

Looking forward this is a big season with Olympic qualifiers – like the European Championships in Bath this summer coming up – but I just want to get the World Cups under my belt and see how they go, I’m really pleased with how things have been going training wise so it will be good to see how I get on at the internationals”.

About the format of the competition Jan Bartu said “This is the first time ever that we’ve simultaneously run the Youth A and the Junior/Senior ranking competitions over in one day – the competition started at 0800 and by 1800 everything was packed and we were on our way back home. Thanks to all involved and especially those who voluntarily gave us a hand on the day.”

The third and final ranking event will be at Millfield School once more on February 7.

RESULTS (top ten only)

Women

1. Kate French 1381pts

2. Freyja Prentice 1371 pts

3. Samantha Murray 1359 pts

4. Eilidh Prise 1343 pts

5. Yane Marques (BRA) 1333 pts

6. Francesca Summers 1284 pts

7. Joanna Muir 1267 pts

8. Georgia Pipes 1264 pts

9. Mhairi Spence 1236 pts

10.Priscilla Oliveira (BRA) 1236 pts

Men

1. James Cooke 1478 pts

2. Joe Evans 1475 pts

3. Joseph Choong 1474 pts

4. James Myatt 1462 pts

5. Samuel Curry 1439 pts

6. Nick Woodbridge 1422 pts

7. Luke Tasker 1402 pts

8. Tom Lees 1380 pts

9. Tom Toolis 1369 pts

10. David Atkinson 1329 pts

Caroline Searle

Friday, 9th Jan 2015

2015-01-09

2014 Biathle World Tour Rankings

The 2014 Biathle World Tour Rankings are now available at http://www.pentathlon.org/biathle-triathle-world-tour-ranking-2014/ .

British Biathletes also took 17 second places and 15 third places in the overall rankings which counted the best four results from the seven 2014 World Tour events available.

Congratulations to all who participated.

Howard Jones

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Get Ready for National Modern Pentathlon Week!

Posted on Thursday, 26th Feb 2015 by Eleanor Guest

We're introducing National Modern Pentathlon Week; 6-12th April 2015. The purpose of this campaign week is to:

To create an inspirational and co-ordinated week of Modern Pentathlon related activity to attract and retain members.

To engage the whole pentathlon family in one activity campaign and therefore provide a motivational centre piece.

To link localised provision for the sport to our mass participation event – the British Schools’ Modern Biathlon Championships – providing follow up activities introducing the different disciplines and easing the transition into clubs and Modern Pentathlon activity.

To raise the profile of Modern Pentathlon as a participation sport as well as at performance and elite level. Linked to this would be delivering some of the key messages about what our fabulous sport has to offer.

Pentathlon GB cannot make this campaign happen without YOU! We are looking for a range of activities to demonstrating the range and breadth of our sport: from grass roots to talent; from two to five disciplines; from taster days to competitions. All of these activities should show that we are fun, diverse and challenging as a sport.

Activities can happen across the country at any point through the week commencing 6 April. Examples of activities include:

Adapted activities – for young participants, participants with disabilities

Activities to engage participants/parents into coaching

Charity activities

Challenge activities

Engage a role model to help with your club activity

This is a time to be creative or even just celebrate what you already offer by opening your doors to new members through this campaign.

If you are interested and want to know more please contact a member of the Development Team who are here to help you make the most of the campaign. The week will be officially launched on 23rd February. So to make the most of the opportunity we need a full to bursting activity schedule between 6th and 12th April. If you have something to promote as part of this week please complete the attached form and return to louise.andren@pentathlongb.org – we need the details of your activity by Thursday 19th February.

Our Development Officers can help by giving guidance on the activities you would like to run. If you’re in the North then contact Rachael Handley: rachael.handley@pentathlongb.org or 07590 444372. If you’re in the South then contact Miranda Palmer: miranda.palmer@pentathlongb.org or 07855 957024.

There are no features yet for this month. Why not have a look at the features we ran last month?

Features
from February 2015

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Thursday, 26th Feb 2015

2015-02-26

Get Ready for National Modern Pentathlon Week!

We're introducing National Modern Pentathlon Week; 6-12th April 2015. The purpose of this campaign week is to:

To create an inspirational and co-ordinated week of Modern Pentathlon related activity to attract and retain members.

To engage the whole pentathlon family in one activity campaign and therefore provide a motivational centre piece.

To link localised provision for the sport to our mass participation event – the British Schools’ Modern Biathlon Championships – providing follow up activities introducing the different disciplines and easing the transition into clubs and Modern Pentathlon activity.

To raise the profile of Modern Pentathlon as a participation sport as well as at performance and elite level. Linked to this would be delivering some of the key messages about what our fabulous sport has to offer.

Pentathlon GB cannot make this campaign happen without YOU! We are looking for a range of activities to demonstrating the range and breadth of our sport: from grass roots to talent; from two to five disciplines; from taster days to competitions. All of these activities should show that we are fun, diverse and challenging as a sport.

Activities can happen across the country at any point through the week commencing 6 April. Examples of activities include:

Adapted activities – for young participants, participants with disabilities

Activities to engage participants/parents into coaching

Charity activities

Challenge activities

Engage a role model to help with your club activity

This is a time to be creative or even just celebrate what you already offer by opening your doors to new members through this campaign.

If you are interested and want to know more please contact a member of the Development Team who are here to help you make the most of the campaign. The week will be officially launched on 23rd February. So to make the most of the opportunity we need a full to bursting activity schedule between 6th and 12th April. If you have something to promote as part of this week please complete the attached form and return to louise.andren@pentathlongb.org – we need the details of your activity by Thursday 19th February.

Our Development Officers can help by giving guidance on the activities you would like to run. If you’re in the North then contact Rachael Handley: rachael.handley@pentathlongb.org or 07590 444372. If you’re in the South then contact Miranda Palmer: miranda.palmer@pentathlongb.org or 07855 957024.

Eleanor Guest

Thursday, 12th Feb 2015

2015-02-12

Europeans excitement builds as British Ranking list published

Kate French and Joe Evans top the British Ranking lists, Pentathlon GB announced today, as the excitement of the 2015 season looms closer.

French won two of three PentathlonGB ranking events and Evans won the opener and placed second and third in the other two.

Samantha Murray, World Champion and 2012 Olympic medallist, was also in strong form at the weekend to take second place in the final event in the series.

With Jamie Cook, Joseph Choong, Tom Toolis, Joanna Muir, Freyja Prentice and Francesca Summers all having posted top-three finishes in the series at Millfield School, the scene looks set for some intense internal rivalry before selections are made for British teams at the key events.

One of the more important events on that 2015 calendar will be the European Championships at the University of Bath this August. Not only will the European crowns be at stake but also eight quota qualifying slots for the Olympic Games in Rio in 2016.

As the year turned into 2015 there was a palpable sense of excitement around this event which will be staged on the most compact site of modern times.

The University’s £30 million Sports Training Village sits next to the accommodation that will be used by the athletes and support personnel.

Within the Sports Training Village there is a 50m swimming pool and the Team Bath Arena hall which will be used for the fencing competition (one that will have added spice this year because of the new bonus round).

The show-jumping element will be on the athletics in-field and the run-shoot will use the existing 400m athletics oval and a new pistol range.

Crowds will be able to get up close to the action and cheer on their local but global heroes and heroines.

With such intense rivalry in the GB ranks this early in the year, there is no doubt that GB will field a strong team for the 2015 European Modern Pentathlon Championships.

Caroline Searle

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UK Modern Pentathlon Roll of Honour

Top 6 finishers in Olympic Games, World Championships and World Cup Finals